Hocker keeps NFL dream aliveWhen Zach Hocker was cut from the NFL's Washington Redskins prior to the 2014 football season, his dream of playing professional football seemed on the rocks. Hocker had signed a $2.1 million contract with the Redskins, but the team elected to go with veteran kicker Kai Forbath instead. Hocker, who grew up in the halls and on the fields of Russellville High School, always wanted to play a professional sport — he just had no idea it would be fo...

Elite 8: All QBs still in playoffs have strong pedigreesThe NFL playoffs don't include any "game managers" or quarterbacks who are still in the hunt solely because they're surrounded by a great defense or running game. The eight signal callers still chasing the Super Bowl have strong pedigrees. Seven of them have either won a Super Bowl or been picked first in the draft, or both. The eighth, Tony Romo, was the league's top-rated passer this year. "You look at the eight quarterbacks left and every s...

Murder trial of Aaron Hernandez begins with jury selection FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — The murder trial of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez began Friday with the judge telling the first batch of prospective jurors that they could still be chosen to sit on the panel even if they had heard about the high-profile case. Hundreds of jurors were expected to file through the halls of the Fall River Justice Center on the first day of the selection process. Hernandez, 25, is charged with killing...

NFL Playoff Capsules (Wildcard Weekend)ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Tony Romo threw two touchdown passes to Terrance Williams, the second for the lead late in the fourth quarter, and the Dallas Cowboys rallied for a 24-20 wild-card win over Detroit on Sunday in their first playoff game in five years. The Cowboys (13-4) wiped out an early two-touchdown deficit to earn a trip to Green Bay, their first visit there in the postseason since a heartbreaking loss to the Packers in the Ice Bowl ...

NFL Capsules (Week 17)PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers are back on top of the AFC North. Antonio Brown returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown and added a clinching 63-yard scoring grab with 2:50 to go in the Steelers' 27-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night. Pittsburgh (11-5) earned its first division title since 2010 by sweeping the season series from the Bengals (10-5-1). The Steelers are the No. 3 seed in the AFC and will host Baltim...

Lions DT Suh suspended for playoff gameNEW YORK (AP) — Ndamukong Suh is in trouble with the NFL again. The Detroit defensive tackle was suspended for this Sunday's wild-card playoff game against Dallas for a violation of safety-related playing rules against Green Bay in the season finale. The league announced Monday that Suh was suspended for stepping on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers' left leg twice, once with each foot. Suh also applied pressure and pushed off Rodgers' unprote...

The ins and outs of the NFL playoff pictureNow that they've qualified for the postseason, there's no relaxing for the Packers, Lions, and Steelers. Nor for the Seahawks, Cardinals, Cowboys, Patriots and Broncos. Week 15 saw defending Super Bowl champion Seattle secure its passage to the playoffs with a 35-6 rout of Arizona on Sunday night. It also had Dallas clinching the NFC East; Pittsburgh setting up a showdown for the AFC North title with Cincinnati; Green Bay and Detroit winning t...

Senators to NFL: Drop 'blackout' rule or we mightWASHINGTON (AP) — Senators from both parties warned the National Football League on Thursday to get rid of a four-decade-old TV "blackout" rule or risk congressional action to restrict the league's lucrative antitrust exemption, which allows NFL teams to negotiate radio and television broadcast rights together. The blackout rule, which bars home games from being televised in a local market if they have not sold out, is unfair to fans who have ...

Deer season 2014 arrivesThe youth deer season that took place this past weekend could not have happened at a better time. Deer activity was definitely at a peak. I have received several great e-mails and been told numerous stories by my school students of seeing lots of deer and having a great weekend in the field. This is exactly what the Special Youth Modern Gun Hunt is all about. It provides youth 15 years of age and younger an opportunity to get a jump on the “bi...

A bear of a surpriseWhen Reno Romanin left home a week ago Saturday he was bound and determined to finish something that he had started over two years ago and that was to harvest a bear near Onyx, Arkansas. As he headed out the door that morning he told his wife that he was sitting from daylight until dark because he felt that this was going to be his day. Despite conditions that were unseasonably hot and dry and a forecasted temperature of 85 degrees, Romanin wa...

All eyes on Maine and Michigan in hunt voteWhen I first read about the proposed ban of Maine’s bear baiting, hounding and trapping, it was on the editorial page of my newspaper and not in a hunting magazine. It was a column about the “inhumane” hunting practices that Maine bear hunters are undertaking, according to this writer. Maine’s anti-hunting voters will have a chance to alter the hunting practices of bear hunters in the state if they get their way. That’s scarier than having Al ...

Fall choices make Arkansas greatFall has definitely arrived in Arkansas and the majority of Arkansans have put their boat and fishing gear in the garage and took to the woods for hunting season. This is a seeming yearly transition but many anglers are torn and try to make time for both a little fishing and hunting which makes for some interesting choices as opportunities for both seam to peak at almost the same time. The hardcore fishermen who do not hunt are the ones who be...

Royals clobber Giants 7-2 to even World Series KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Salvador Perez and the pesky Kansas City Royals fought back from a Game 1 flop to beat the San Francisco Giants' brilliant bullpen and even the World Series. Perez broke Game 2 open with a two-run double in a five-run sixth inning, and the Royals' own cast of clutch relievers kept the Giants in check in a 7-2 victory Wednesday night that spiced things up as the Series shifts to San Francisco for the next three games. Je...

Muzzleloading season underway across ArkansasMuzzleloader deer season opened statewide this past Saturday, and hunters are anticipating one of the best hunting weeks in recent years. Summer rains and nice, early fall temperatures have deer activity in full swing, and hunters are looking to take advantage throughout this week and next weekend. Muzzleloading has become the second most anticipated deer hunt in the state, and hunters started flocking to the woods this past Thursday in groves...

Nanners took a beating as kill rates increaseI received a text message from a fellow hunter last week that said “Nanners took a beating this weekend.” By nanners, he was referring to doe deer. This past weekend was the private land’s modern gun doe season where hunters could kill a doe with a high-powered rifle. The year-to-date doe harvest is up 13 percent so if killing more does was the mission, mission accomplished. The total deer harvest is up a whopping 22 percent year to date, alth...

Arkansas full of scenic fall sightsThey say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I am really going to have to bear down to get my point across. Or will I? For those of us who call the Natural State home we know all too well that when the calendar turns to October that our state provides many vibrant images that make us all smile. From the changing of the leaves, the beauty of the mountains, lakes and streams, to the easily visible abundance of wildlife — fall in Arkansas is ...

Taking aim at the first deer of the seasonAfter swaying back and forth in a tree last Friday evening as the winds were gusting to around 30 mph, I figured that a few whiteoak acorns would be on the ground. That would be a great place to be in the morning and I happened to have a stand already in a tree near a large group of whiteoaks. Providing the wind would cooperate, that was my plan for the morning hunt. Daylight seems to be coming later and later, and I was in my tree well in adv...

‘How stupid do they think we are?’ Worst outdoor products everI love building stuff and have always dreamed of inventing something that would have mass appeal, so I could sell it and hunt full-time (this part-time hunting is for the birds!). I’ve been watching “Shark Tank” lately and love the entrepreneurial spirit that exists in a capitalistic society. Of course, if your invention is good enough, you wouldn’t need the approval of the sharks, but that’s an entirely different subject. My thoughts today ar...

Police: Phelps' eyes, speech affected at DUI stop BALTIMORE (AP) — Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps registered .14 percent on a blood-alcohol test after he was stopped on a speeding violation, according to charging documents released Wednesday. The legal limit for intoxication in Maryland is .08. Phelps, 29, was charged Tuesday with driving under the influence, excessive speed and crossing double lane lines in the Fort McHenry Tunnel on Interstate 95 in his native Baltimore, according to the Ma...